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Brighton and Lewes Downs Biosphere Reserve | |
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Location | Sussex, England |
Nearest city | Brighton and Hove, Sussex, England |
Coordinates | 50°50′56″N0°6′28″W / 50.84889°N 0.10778°W |
Area | 29,514 hectares (113.95 sq mi) |
Established | 2014 |
Governing body | Brighton & Hove City Council, Lewes District Council, Adur District Council, South Downs National Park Authority, Natural England, Sussex Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority, Marine Management Organisation |
biospherehere |
The Brighton and Lewes Downs Biosphere Reserve (established 2014) is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in Sussex on the southeast coast of England near the city of Brighton and Hove. Forming a central unit of the hills of the South Downs National Park, it is centred on the Brighton chalk block that lies between the River Adur in the west and the River Ouse in the east. Chalk downland makes up the principal terrestrial landscape of the area, bounded at each end by the two river valleys. The coastline is dominated by high chalk cliffs in the east and urbanized plains in the west, running to the estuary of the River Adur at Shoreham-by-Sea.
The reserve's surface area is 29,514 hectares (113.95 sq mi). The core area is 1,832 hectares (7.07 sq mi), surrounded by buffer zone(s) of 20,479 hectares (79.07 sq mi) and transition area(s) of 7,203 hectares (27.81 sq mi).
Brighton and Lewes Downs Biosphere Reserve is found within the temperate broadleaf forests biome of the Palearctic realm's British Island province and includes the following habitats: coastal chalk cliffs, sub-tidal chalk reef, freshwater wetland, shingle beaches, deciduous woodland, river estuaries and chalk grassland.
Three distinct but interrelated environments make up the biosphere reserve area; rural, coastal and marine, and urban. The rural environment contains lowland chalk grassland which is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the country and particularly important for its high botanical species diversity with up to 40-50 vascular plant species per square meter. It also supports the invertebrate communities, notably butterflies with 20 species having a substantial proportion of their breeding populations within this habitat. Characteristic species include: Phyteuma orbiculare, Wart-biter (Decticus verrucivorus), and Adonis blue butterfly (Lysandra bellargus). The coastal and marine environments are made up of a moderately exposed coast and inshore area of the English Channel with cliffs providing nesting niches for birds such as Northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis). The discontinuous chalk ledge to the west of Brighton gives rise to a unique series of low underwater north-facing chalk cliffs with biological records of over 300 marine species in the area.
The area is home to 211 species that have been recorded on international conservation lists, such as the European eel (Anguilla Anguilla)) in addition to 1,052 local rare species including the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and yellowhammer (Emberiza citronella). Important local genetic varieties of species include the unique elm tree {Elmus spp.) as well as wild apple tree varieties. The domesticated breeds of Southdown sheep and rare Sussex cattle are also distinctive to the area.
The biosphere area is home to around 371,500 people, the great majority of whom are urban-dwellers in the transition area (population around 358,500) in the main settlements of the city of Brighton and Hove and the towns of Lewes, Newhaven, Peacehaven, Shoreham and Southwick. The rural buffer zone of the South Downs National Park is additionally home to a population of around 13,500 people whilst no inhabitants occupy the 14 protected areas that make up the core areas. Due to its proximity to London (55 miles) it is a target for tourists, receiving around 12 million visitors per year. They are attracted to the natural environment, contemporary culture and heritage, which includes a range of archaeological sites dating back to the Neolithic period as well as a legacy of more recent urban architecture.[ citation needed ]
Evolving from a seaside resort to a service sector economy, Brighton and Hove has a total population of 273,000. However, socio-economic challenges exist with urban areas constrained in their size and future growth by their geography (between the sea and the national park). Economic activities include harvesting and extraction of primary resources, mainly through farming and commercial sea fishing. Coastal fishing sees the majority of the catch sent to local and regional markets and restaurants with the remainder going to mainland Europe where there is high demand.
This article incorporates text from a free content work. ( license statement/permission ). Text taken from UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory , UNESCO, UNESCO.
East Sussex is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Brighton and Hove, and the county town is Lewes.
Shoreham-by-Sea is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England.
Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to the west, larger Shoreham-by-Sea to the east, and the parish of Coombes to the north. Excluding definitive suburbs it may have the largest undivided village cluster in Britain. However, its economy is commonly analysed as integral to the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. Its settled area beneath the South Downs National Park covers 3.65 square miles, the majority of its land.
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km2) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald.
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers the chalk hills of the South Downs and a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
Sussex is a historic county and cultural region in the south of England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, north-east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. The city of Brighton & Hove was created a unitary authority in 1997, and was granted City status in 2000. Until then Chichester had been Sussex's only city. By convention, Chichester is Sussex's capital city and Lewes is Sussex's county town.
An urban biosphere reserve is an attempt to apply the biosphere reserve concept to urban areas by the MAB Programme of UNESCO. Through urban planning and ecosystem management, an urban biosphere reserve is expected to support sustainable development and conservation. Brighton and Hove is bidding to become the world's first urban biosphere reserve.
The Miramare Biosphere Reserve and Marine Reserve is situated about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) km from the city of Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste close to the Slovenian border. It represents a rocky promontory of karst with coastal cliffs and beaches. Marine habitats of special interest from a conservation perspective are the tidal zone which harbours many endemic species, such as Fucus virsoides, and undisturbed cliffs with a diverse benthic fauna. The aim of the biosphere reserve is to maintain biological diversity in the marine environment surrounding Trieste through scientific research and monitoring activities. Environmental education designed for students and the public is also a major activity in the area.
The Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in São Tomé and Príncipe. It encompasses the entire emerged area of the island of Príncipe, its islets Bom Bom, Boné do Jóquei, Mosteiros, and Pedra da Galé, and the Tinhosas islands as well as surrounding marine habitats. The reserve is located in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa, and is managed by the regional government of Príncipe.
Alto Golfo de California Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in the state of Sonora in extreme northwestern Mexico. The 1,652,110 hectares (6,378.8 sq mi) reserve comprises the El Pinacate y Gran Desierto reserve and the Bahia Adair on the Gulf of California border. Geological volcanic formations with craters, dunes, oasis and beaches, and the diversity of plant associations determine its special landscape. The reserve was established in 1993 by the President of Mexico as Reserva de la Biosfera del Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Río Colorado and extended in 1995.
Waterton Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve encompassing Waterton Lakes National Park in the extreme south-west of the Province of Alberta, Canada. The reserve includes a section of the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains extending from the Continental Divide to the edge of the Canadian Great Plains to the east. The Glacier Biosphere Reserve and National Park in Montana, USA is located to the south of the area. The reserve is administered by Waterton Lakes National Park and the Waterton Biosphere Association.
The Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located in Ontario, Canada. The reserve stretches 725 kilometres (450 mi) along the Niagara Escarpment from Lake Ontario to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. The Escarpment corridor crosses two major biomes: needle leaf forests in the north and temperate broadleaf forest in the south.
Bras d'Or Lake Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located at Bras d'Or Lake, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of a salt-water estuary watershed inland sea with three passages to the Atlantic Ocean. The Holocene transgression flooded a complex river-lake system of diverse geology, creating the small, deep inland sea with 12 significant watersheds draining both highlands and lowlands.
Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. The reserve is located at the eastern end of the coastal strip of the Yucatán Peninsula, with the Gulf of Mexico at its northern limit. The area encompasses coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico and includes important wetlands designated under the Ramsar Wetlands Convention. The site presents a rich diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, such as mangroves, small estuaries, medium semi-evergreen forest, low deciduous forest, coastal dune vegetation, coastal lagoons, marshes (petenes) and savanna represented by tular vegetation, grasslands and reed beds that are the main nesting sites for marshland and sea birds.
La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve situated in the Pacific Coastal Lowlands physiographic region of Mexico. It covers 144,848 hectares (559.26 sq mi) stretching over six municipalities in the Costa de Chiapas. It is composed of two large coastal lagoon systems that correspond to two core areas, and a wide variety of natural ecosystems including mangroves, zapotonales, tule swamps and marshes, as well as patches of tropical seasonal forest, coastal dunes and palm trees.
The East Vättern Scarp LandscapeBiosphere Reserve is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Sweden. The 105,520 hectares (407.4 sq mi) reserve is a distinct example of the landscape in the central part of southern Sweden. The East Vättern Scarp Landscape contains many parallel fault scarps, most notably a steep western-facing precipice above the eastern border of Lake Vättern. This rugged landscape, cut by many small waterways, is dominated by agriculture and forestry lands, with villages and settlements consisting of small farms and individual homes. The reserve includes portions of Vättern and other deep lakes. The core area is 2,120 hectares (8.2 sq mi), surrounded by buffer zone(s) of 41,800 hectares (161 sq mi) and transition area(s) of 61,600 hectares (238 sq mi).
The Red River Delta Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the coastal region of northern Vietnam. Mangroves and intertidal habitats of the Red River Delta form wetlands of high biodiversity especially in the Xuan Thuy and Tien Hai districts. These wetlands are of global importance as migratory sites for several bird species.
Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone are two spatially separate areas in the English Channel, off the East Sussex coast. They stretch from Brighton Marina in the city of Brighton and Hove to Beachy Head near Eastbourne, with a gap at the mouth of the River Ouse near Newhaven. It covers an area of around 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi).
Beacon Hill is an 18.6-hectare (46-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Rottingdean, on the eastern outskirts of Brighton in East Sussex. It is owned and managed by Brighton and Hove Council.
Benfield Hill is an 11.8-hectare (29-acre) Local Nature Reserve (LNR) on the northern outskirts of Hove in East Sussex and is within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park. It is owned and managed by Brighton and Hove City Council.